Communities Dominate Brands

More Endorsements: Japan's Cybird, Finland's Hasan Partners love the book

The book is receiving more endorsements adding to those of Red Bull and TV2 Norway here earlier on this site. Japanese mobile internet developer pioneer, Cybird, and Finnish advertising/branding agency Hasan and Partners had these things to say:

"The authors understand how living in a converging mobile world introduces threats to your business model from a wide range of competitors, and then the book gives concrete examples of how to survive, which is why I recommend you read this book." - Kazutomo Robert Hori, CEO - Cybird Japan

"Having made most of my career on marketing communications, I find it compelling when somebody preaches the death - future or past - of advertising. I agree on many points with Alan and Tomi, disagree on some, and find the book a very interesting and valuable read. Marketing communications today and in the future should not be interruptive, it should be creative, engaging, entertaining, conversational and personal, be it in mass media or in the mobile device in someone's jeans pocket. Showing respect to the consumers is your first step towards success, the consumer now truly holds the power.  - Ami Hasan, Chairman and Chief Creative Officer, Hasan & Partners Finland

Thank you Kazutomo-San and Ami.

where do communities from?

The failings of that community thing is a post made by Jake McKee, who has a very interesting job working for LEGO in community interaction and development.

Jake is musing on a recent post from Common Craft

I think that the biggest reason that "community" failed in circa-1998 was that businesses were using their 1980 business mindsets to approach community. Most community was thought to happen on the corporate Web site, not where the people actually already were (which was rarely on the corporate site). When no one showed up, they assumed that community didn't work, rather than understanding that like real estate, it's all about the location, location, location.

I think that we have a better platform (and more importantly the right mindset) for helping to build community now, at least in theory. I think that businesses are starting to understand that they need dedicated people, who understand community, and are willing to go to them, rather than forcing them to come to the corporation.

From corner store to community, is a paradigm shift. And as a very good friend of mine a global marketing director of shall we say a big company said to me today, "You (SMLXL) are trying to break a paradigm and mental model of what marketing is. Not that we mean't to, it just seemed common sense to us.

We are in a transition stage from industrial mindset to something other and why Tomi and I felt compelled to write our book.

Communities are multifacted - they are good, they are bad and they are ugly, they do not operate by the old rules, they have escaped from the straight jacket of consumerism and therein lies the challenge for companies.

The web is not the Internet

TV News in a Postmodern World. Beyond the World Wide Web .

This is a must read.

Stuff I liked, People do not demand messages. The internet becomes powerful when it can truly deliver
1). Need to know
2). Need to buy

And of course this becomes evermore powerful as we move into a converged world which is mobile, always on and always connected.

Terry Heaton says

When our industry first confronted the Internet, I remember a lot of folks saying it was a way to expand our reach. History now reveals the silliness of that proposition. We need to think of it as a better way to reach and interact with those we already — or in many case used to — serve. The Internet buzzword is "conversations." There's no time like now to begin conversing with the people in your market. In that sense, a Website is but one tool in the vast toolbox offered by the Internet.

Teens connect

Just hot from my inbox, and curiously relevant as SMLXL is currently working on a project relating specifically to customer advocacy and the importance of word of mouth.

Peer Pleasure: Teens Connect

According to comScore Media Metrix, more than 14 million Americans age 13 to 17 accessed the Internet in January 2005. The recent edition of The Score focuses on the Internet behavior of this highly sought after demographic segment.

A significant proportion of the average teen’s time online is spent connecting with peers whether it’s instant messaging, blogs or e-mail, says the report. Sites that facilitate or promote teen communication were among the highest ranked properties by composition of users age 13 to 17.

And I should know, as I watch my 15 year old daughter MSNing as if her very life depended on it, whilst I once again, burst into tears when I pick up her mobile phone bill to see how much she has been texting.

And I am sure if you ask Tomi, he will tell you how proflic these teens are with their mobile habits too.

Its an always on, always connected, more intimate world in many ways, where people are have conversations and building trust through close peer to peer networks.

The one number you need to grow

Is the title of a paper written by Frederick F. Reicheld Director Emeritus of consulting firm Bain & Co Reicheld argues that customer advocacy is the one number you need to grow. I was prompted to reflect on the paper after reading Justin Kirbys article Global alternative marketing themes

Justin says

Good mainstream advertising can still be effective - if it connects with consumers. It's connecting with consumers to create conversations that's now the holy grail of marketing, not the Heinz 57 varieties of alternative techniques used to reach them.

And you don't need a panel of hundreds of thousands to create conversations and connect with consumers

Justin outlines issues facing marketers, how do I choose from the plethora of marketing communication channels now available? how do I engage? What are the metrics in this new world order?

It's also about using both alternative and traditional media in an innovative way that enables consumers to see brands as more than just advertisers, creating conversations that connect consumers with brand

Justin argues that by engaging passionate fans of a brand, or creating simple engagement marketing initiatives, one can create communities that for short or extended periods are prepared to put their minds to work for mutual benefit.

But the principal point it is a dialogue amongst all stakeholders. Which ultimately should lead to customer advocacy.

Justin again,

In the end, you've got to have either a stunning product that sells itself, or buzzable creative ideas that connect with consumers to help amplify and accelerate word of mouth. Just remember, it may not be your (tr)ad agency that comes up with that good idea - it could be any one of your marketing partners, and possibly after brainstorming with all stakeholders including your influential customers

Justin, you are just too hot today.

Book has been released! Order it now

The book has been released.

It will become available through all booksellers on a rolling schedule. The first place (now) you can order the book is direct from the publisher, futuretext Ltd, at this site www.communities.futuretext.com  Next it will be available in the UK, first at Amazon.co.uk in April/May, and then at UK booksellers. European web and retail booksellers will follow. American webstores such as Amazon.com will have it in June/July and the traditional American booksellers, as well as Asian/Australian/rest of world to follow during the summer.

But for now you can buy Communities Dominate Brands directly from futuretext. Follow this link  www.communities.futuretext.com  The 275 page hardcover book costs only  UK £29.95 / US $49.95 / Euro €44.95 (plus shipping)

Hans Henrik H Heming of public(Mind) is intrigued by book

We spotted Hans Henrik H Heming, of the public(Mind) blogsite discovering our book. It was brought to his attention by Trevor Cook from Corporate Engagement. (Thank you very much Trevor!). Hans writes kindly about our book, saying

"When it comes to customer involvement as part of overall design and innovations strategy I think this book is a worth read."

I posted a brief reply directly to Hans Henrik at his blogsite. Thank you Hans Henrik. We'll send you the excerpt so you can see more  :-)

Mark Curtis at his Distraction Culture blogsite discusses the book

Mark Curtis, one of the founders of Fjord Networks here in the UK, and an about-to-be-published author, comments on our book in this way:

"...Communities Dominate Brands - which touches on a lot of distraction themes – most notably the effect of digital on communications and thus on business, and the new power of communities..."

See more of what Mark writes about, and of course much more of his upcoming book, Distractions, at his blogsite here  Mark Curtis Distraction Blogsite

P.Diddy says he is MVNO at CTIA

(ha ha, my title sounds exactly spoken like a true techno-geek, sorry..)

Our favourite rapper, P.Diddy was a keynote speaker at the biggest telecoms event in America, CTIA - and claimed that he is an MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator). This follows the example we identify in one of the case studies in the book, Twins Mobile, which launched as MVNO back in 2002. There are many pop artist MVNOs, such as Kiss the rockers and fellow rap artist Nelly, etc. Similarly MTV launched as MVNO already in Sweden.

This trend by rock/pop artists launching their own branded mobile phones (cellphones for the Americans), mobile phone services/wireless services and the related fan club and exclusive content materials, such as games, screen savers, ring tones, custom songs as MP3 files, fan chat, etc are all natural extensions of using the mobile phone to build community engagement. Good for you P.Diddy. We want more !

And yes, plenty more about music, mobile phones, and communities in our book.

postmodern engagement marketing vs. modern interruptive marketing

David Wolfe at Agelessmarketing posts on engagement marketing mentioning our book, Communities Dominate Brands

The new way is engagement marketing, very much a reflection of The Experience Economy’s authors Joe Pine and Jim Gilmore’s dictum that “the experience is the marketing.” Moore and Ahonen clearly understand that provider and consumer can each better meet their respective objectives when they are co-creators in product development and marketing processes. Bilateralism versus unilateralism marks the differences between postmodern engagement marketing and modern interruptive marketing.

Yet, the marketing communications industry is still overwhelmingly wedded to the one-way kind of thinking that underlies the interruptive marketing model. And the more that marketers working in that old school way of thinking try to make interruptive marketing work, the more apparent the poverty of their thinking is.

An astonishing number of big name brands are in trouble: Coke, Disney, GM, HP, Daimler-Chrysler, Wendy’s and even Playboy are leading examples. Some may argue these brands are suffering more because of management missteps than because of poorly executed marketing . However that only emphasizes a core weakness of modern management: placement of functional specialties in different silos.

Had the management of those brands kept their companies in alignment through and through with changes in consumer behavior they would not be on everybody’s short list of troubled brands.

It is very insightful about the state of the nation of marketing, business and media. Putting the customer first requires more than lip seervice to that notion.

Also worth a read cognitive paparazzi by Adriana Cronin-Lukas